Investing in a Buyer’s Agent to help you find your new home, next home or investment property is an important decision.  The money you spend on a professional to advocate for you throughout the process is, in all reality, money that could go towards buying that property.

But if you pick the right BA, or at least don’t pick a dud, that investment could actually save you money.

Here are our 5 red flags when it comes to selecting a BA.

  1. They are based far away from your search area. Local knowledge, good agent relationships and the ability to get boots on the ground is key in sourcing A grade property for clients.
  2. They rely on agent video walkthroughs. If your BA isn’t physically inspecting properties on your behalf, how can they see all the things the agent doesn’t want them to see? Now, we aren’t saying sales agents are deliberately misleading anyone, but they may neglect to show important factors on their walkthroughs. What’s over the fence? What’s the plumbing situation under the kitchen sink? You can’t smell mould through a camera!
  3. They are FIFO BA’s. That’s right, there are a lot of Buyer’s Agents acting in different states to where they live. Firstly, how can they have the appropriate local knowledge? Some of them literally fly in, inspect a bunch of properties, and recommend you buy one after they’ve jumped back on a plane for home and flown out. What if none of them are suitable? Are they going to fly in again next week? Unlikely. A huge question to here is to ask, “Are you licensed to operate in every state you work in?” I can guarantee, they won’t all be able to answer Yes!
  4. They take kick backs from developers or agents on properties they recommend. Hardly in your best interests as the buyer if they get some benefit other than what their actual client pays them.
  5. The more you pay, the more they make. This is a controversial comment in the industry and whilst operating on a sliding scale or fixed fee for service model that is dependent on the actual search is very common, at least you have transparency of cost before you begin. If they charge a percentage of sale price, they probably won’t mind if you pay an extra $20k or more for the property they recommend. After all, that’s more money in their pocket.

Like any professional, it’s important to shop around and ask questions of anyone you are thinking of hiring. Talk to a few Buyer’s Agents, understand how their business works, get to know them, make sure you feel like you can work well together, and they are actually operating in your best interests. After all, you’re the one paying them.